No. 8 WashU Hosts Ill. Wesleyan Before Weekend in Wisconsin

Sep 06, 2017

St. Louis, Mo., September 6, 2017 - The No. 8-ranked Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team enters its second week of play and will host Illinois Wesleyan University on Wednesday at 7 p.m. before traveling to University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh for four matches in the Pizza Hut Classic over the weekend.

•THISWEEK'S COMPETITION - WashU (2-1 Overall) enters the week as the No. 8 ranked team in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III poll. The Bears weekly opponents will include a home match against Illinois Wesleyan University (0-3) on Wednesday before traveling to University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh for the Pizza Hut Classic. WashU will compete against Saint Mary's University of Minnesota (3-1), UW-Oshkosh (1-3), Lawrence University (2-2) and St. Norbert College (0-5).

•UAA ATHLETE OF THE WEEK -Julianne Malek was named the University Athletic Association (UAA) Athlete of the Week after the junior business major recorded 34 kills with a .542 hitting percentage in addition to 16 total blocks and 10 digs as WashU concluded the Bear Invitational with a 2-1 record. She was also named to the All-Tournament team for her efforts.

• DIG STREAK - Sophomore Zoe Baxter also earned All-Tournament honors at the Bear Invitational. She exceeded 10 digs in WashU's opening three matches to continue her streak of double digit dig figures to 16 matches dating back to 2016. The Los Angeles, Calif.-native last failed to record 10 or more digs on Oct. 21 against Texas-Dallas when she tallied eight.

•ALL-UAA - Juniors Julianne Malek and Ifeoma Ufondu earned all-University Athletic Association (UAA) Second Team honors in 2016. Ufondu was second on the team in kills with 348, while Malek posted the second best hitting percentage of .313. In addition, Malek was one of only six players within the UAA to surpass 100 total blocks. Her total of 117 blocks ranked third within the UAA. She was also one of only three players in the conference to exceed 300 kills and total more than 100 blocks.

•APPROACHING 100 - Head coach Vanessa Walby is two wins shy of reaching 100 wins during her WashU tenure. She is entering her fourth season at WashU and has led the Bears to a 98-21 (.824) record.

•LAST TIME IN OSHKOSH - The Bears return to the scene in which WashU beat Mary Washington 3-2 in the 2016 NCAA Quarterfinal and defeated Southwestern 3-0 in the NCAA Semifinals to advance to the National Championship versus Calvin, earning the national runner-up status when it fell to the Knights 3-0. The Bears' 15 national championship appearances are the most in Division III.